Long Beach area......what restaurants are the must go to?

[Pinkwasabi]

We are taking our friends to dinner in Long Beach/Seal Beach/Sunset Beach area. What restaurants are the must see? Love seafood, steak or American New (aka California, I believe). I haven't been in the area since and thought it was a good location to all halfway meet since we're coming from OC and they from Lakewood. Especially with amazing desserts. thanks.

[Michelle]

Bake 'N Broil, not a fancy place, more of a diner, but the food is fabulous and the desserts are to die for!

[mlgb]

Assuming you DON'T want diner food with the blue-hair set, maybe Tracht's which is in the downtown LB Renaissance hotel. They have a summer $30 3-course menu that's a good deal if you can go Sun-Weds.

trachts.com

[sbritchky]

The Bake 'n Broil generally has customers of all ages, and they do have outstanding pies and cakes, but the food in general and atmosphere don't fit the request from the OP, who might want to use the search feature. (Nearly 500 hits on "long beach" in the last year alone.)

[mlgb]

Generally, dinner is NOT the strong suit of BnB.

[New Trial]

Second the Tracht's recommendation. For dessert, the pudding is my favorite, particularly (if they have it that night) the butterscotch.

[barham turner]

Tracht's, unfortunately, is no more, as of this summer. There's still a restaurant operating in the same space, using some of the same dishes (I read), but it's not Tracht's.

[justagthing]

Restaurant Koi in Seal Beach. Excellent sushi, s it at the bar w/Tako. Sorry, no amazing desserts, but if you bring him a banana, he will tempura fry it and serve it w/ice cream, yum! But don't tell him I told you this. ;)

In Long Beach, on or near 2nd St. there are a couple of places...
Open Sesame, Cafe Gazelle and Magic Lamp are a few of the great places on my list. But these are not in line w/your wants, sorry.

Please report back w/what you decide on and how it went.

[lawdog262]

Can't say enough about Koi! We are fans of Daigo (sp?), whose station is on the corner next to Taka. He's very creative and friendly, and also has a loyal following.

[CynD]

Frenchy's, for Provencale style French.
Tracht's, as the OP said.
Lasher's on 4th near Redondo for southern style American.
Walt's Wharf on Main St. in Seal Beach for seafood (or King's on Pine, but that's a chain and not unique to Long Beach)
Mediterranean/North African abounds on 2nd Street: Open Sesame, Sunnin, Magic Lamp, George's (Greek)
Christy's on 4th for a fairly traditional, but excellent, dinner (steaks, chops, pastas).

[justagthing]

But King's did start in Long Beach, in fact, wasn't the location on Pine the first one?

[maxzook]

Linking ... also, a map:

http://tinyurl.com/long-beach-restos

[wasabica]

Tracht's is an overpriced expense acct restaurant, IMHO. Best true foodie experience in LB is Benley's. Great French/Vietnamese food right where LB hits Cerritos. It used to be BYOB, but I hear they have a wine list now. Great seafood and dessert. Best dish is risotto.

[maxzook]

adding

[wasabica]

agree on Benley.

[bubbles4me]

Agree about Tracht's, (and I love Jar) and Benley is awesome, the old chef is back and things are better than ever! I would also say Michael's on 2nd street, seriously fine food that I would be willing to drive to LA for and they have a beautiful roof top area with couches and a fire place...very fine.

[maxzook]

Linking.

I'm a little surprised that no one has mentioned L'Opera or the Madison, two places I've never had the opportunity to try. Does anyone have an opinion?

[bubbles4me]

Thanks for linking...I don't know how to do that. L'Opera is fine, great space but the food is kind of dull and it is way overpriced. Madison is cool for a drink, same thing, great spot, uninspired food and overpriced...just my 2 cents.

[Joani Macaroni]

Bubbles, linking is easy. When you click Reply and the box opens up, click on "Link to a place" which you will see at the bottom below the box. Then simply type in the name and the city, then click the red Search box. It should come up with a link if the place has a website. Check the link and then click Post My Reply.

[maxzook]

A few tips:

When searching for a restaurant in the City of Los Angeles, use "Los Angeles, CA" in the City field even if the resto is in, say, North Hollywood or Los Feliz. But if the resto is in an incorporated city like Burbank or Long Beach, use that city name (yes, it's very confusing).

If you see multiple enties fro the same resto, use the one that has a Zip code. If there is no listing with a Zip, it probably doesn't matter.

[OCAnn]

I was wondering about L'Opera too...I had dinner there years ago and wondered whether it went downhill since it received no mention. At the time, I thought it was a nice restaurant, with good food, service and decent wine list. I'm kinda sad to hear that the food is dull....

[lawdog262]

Has Michael's noticebly improved since it opened? We went there in December and found it mediocre and uninspired, with tables crammed so close together we couldn't be served w/o being jostled and could not avoid the conversations of neighboring diners.

[bubbles4me]

To be honest I have never eaten inside, always on the roof and there is plenty of room up there. I think the food is fantastic, classic dishes prepared with the best ingredients and not in anyway overdone...simple clean, fresh flavors. As someone that was getting tired of driving out to LA to have a great meal I think Michael's is a much needed and welcomed restaurant to Long Beach.

[rjw_lgb_ca]

Went to Michael's last week. Had the tasting menu with wine pairings.

Stupendous. STU.PEN.DOUS.

The sommelier REALLY knows what he's doing, and the chef himself came out with one of the courses. It was fascinating; the food was Italian in ingredients and textures and execution, but the combinations had a subtlety and focus on balance that one associates with Japanese fine dining. But tastier. And the dessert course was flawless.

Also: Seconds on Benley and Enrique's. Great places.

[wilp]

Agree with below rave review on Michaels. I posted a few weeks ago. Chefs menu was very well done. Wine pairings were spot-on. Will not only return but frequent. Two of the dishes - a squid ink pasta with clams, and a sirloin strip with crostini were LA standouts.

Big marks down on service, I had to explain to the waitress what a wine pairing was...she finally summoned the manager who knew the deal. Two dishes were not slow, but served almost-warm.

I hope the service improves soon. Michaels will be a great addition LB>

[mh4e]

I agree with Benley's, small space but excellent food and friendly staff. I like Bono's in Belmont Shore also. I was at Tracht's in December and was not that impressed with the food.

[Servorg]

Enrique's for creative and delicious Mexican food. The pork shank is not to missed along with other great dishes like their Pasillas asados consisting of two flame-roasted peppers stuffed with diced potatoes and Jack and blue cheeses. Their chips and salsa is also a superior version. Very casual, comfortable and hole in the wallish, just the way I like my Mexican places.

[Oh Robin]

The food is decent but if you're looking for an amazing dessert go to Delius. The souffle style cookies with homemade vanilla ice cream are worth the drive all by themselves. I've had the oatmeal raisin and it is fantastic. Great wine selection also.

[mlgb]

Agree on Benley, although it isn't really "seafood, steak or New American", they would probably find something to satisfy everyone there. And I love the buttermilk panna cotta. It's also convenient to the 605 Freeway.

Delius is nice, although I have had some misses with the fish preparations.

Enrique's doesn't meet the original request, and there is always a long wait.

[FED]

couple of new places: i've had a couple of really nice meals at No. 9 Noodles, over by the Art Theater. It's kind of Benley light, but not in a bad way. very stylish, very clean flavors. very moderately priced.

And has anyone tried that "Vinieria Italiana"?

as for the restaurants mentioned, all good choices. Michael's can be pretty special -- especially for Long Beach. and Tracht's is probably very close to the mix OP seems to want.

and as much as I love my bnb (and i'm closer to a no-hair than a blue-hair), it's not at all what the OP seems to be looking for.

[mlgb]

We wanted to try Vineria last month but they were closed for Sunday nights. I got the email that they are open now.

I did try Trattoria Limone and liked it, but again not what OP was asking about.

[mh4e]

Went to Vinieria Italiana about a month ago and the food was delicious. The pasta was homemade which is always a plus. I did feel that the prices were a bit steep for the portion size however.

[mlgb]

A neighbor also commented that the pricing at Vineria was over the top.

Of the three "new" Bixby/Cal Heights Italian places, they prefer Limone.

[maxzook]

Catching up on links. (Can't find "No. 9 Noodles", or anything noodle-related near the Art Theater ... ???)

[lerich]

number 9 noodles:

noodles + beer
2118 E. 4th St.
[phone]
numberninenoodles.com

Modern take on vietnamese, beautiful minimalist decor. All happy meat, (humane raised, organic etc), fresh vegetables, 5 spice chicken is great.

[attran99]

Khoury's in Long Beach has always been a favorite of mine. For really great seafood, the Original Fish House in Los Alamitos is great...just go a North a little on the 605...awesome seafood and the best clam chowder I've ever had.

[maxzook]

Linking ...

[wilp]

I have to mention Joe Josts.

We don't have many "institutions" in Long Beach, but Joes is one. Beer on tap, and only beer. Pickled Eggs and a "Special" (polish sausage sand). Its an old, classic bar in a blue collar, family oriented beer pub.

[kc girl]

Another good choice IMO (but it's not a new place) is
Spaghettini's in Seal Beach.
It's easily accessible just a block from the I-405 exit at Seal Beach Blvd.
Northern Italian, fresh quality, great menu, variety. Take a look at their dessert menu !
http://www.spaghettini.com/

And, they often have live cool jazz music in the bar area.

[maxzook]

linkettini ...

http://tinyurl.com/long-beach-restos

[flylice2x]

Delius http://www.deliusrestaurant.com/about.html
Hokkaido http://www.hokkaidoseafood.com/
Papadakis http://papadakistaverna.com/
Greenfield http://www.greenfieldchurrascaria.com/longbeach.htm
Cafe Sevilla http://www.cafesevilla.com/locs/longB...

Khoury's has gone downhill in food and service quality..
Been to all of these and some of those memtion by others.....

[mlgb]

Haven't been to Khoury's in years, good to hear the update.

La Vineria closed. I think the pricing was too out of whack for Long Beach and for what you got.

[Clinton]

Famous Dave's BBQ on Pine and Shoreline Dr. is quite popular and has pretty good BBQ including their baby backs and brisket. There are several sauces on the table you can try also. Hokaiddo Seafood is an AYCE place (off Cherry and the 405) and has a vast selection to choose. We've been to many of these so-called Chinese seafood buffets but this place IMHO is pretty near the top of the list.

[mamajenna]

You should go to La Creperie or Open Seasame in Belmont Shores. I love going to dinner down there.

[Staquille]

In Sunset Beach, CAPTAIN JACK'S fits the bill. Top notch Alaskan Crab Legs and melt in your mouth Prime Rib. It would be a the top of my list.

[daveyd]

I think Bono's is very good-I have been there several times and enjoyed it very much. I also like Le Creperie which is casual but very quaint-both are on 2nd Street in Belmont Shores.